Arrogance
by Rokuchuchu
Summary: Ed has returned to Amestris, reunited with Al. He keeps running into a girl who gives off a bad vibe. Who is she? Where's Dante? And who are these new enemies? EdxOC Post CoS with a twist. R&R!
1. Pilot

Roku: Hey_ y'all! I don't know but suddenly I had an idea child and had to write this down. But man, I love the idea and can't wait to write it! So whether You're here from Truth's Tricks, or you're a new reader, Welcome!_

_Envy: Shut up and start the story._

_Roku: You're not even IN this! Go away!_

_Envy: Hmph._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, Arakawa does. _

_Claimer: I do own Vaan, Padma, and Gillian._

* * *

**(Gillian)**

She glanced up. The sky bright, she brought up a hand to shield her eyes from the sun. She felt a pat on her shoulder and looked to see another female. Her long braids falling to below her breasts, she looked at her mousy-type face. She pointed back to the last of the three, a male with shaggy ash-blonde hair. He had another guy in a choke hold, about to punch him in the face, when he looked up and grinned sheepishly.

The guy dropped to the ground and glared, "I'll be back and I'll get you when you least expect it, Vaan." And the boy scampered away, grabbing his elbow which was scraped from hitting the ground.

"Vaan! You need to stop picking fights!" The previously undescribed female shouted with a not so feminine edge. She stomped over and pulled the boy over to the brunette by the ear, who grinned shyly and looked at him with apology.

"Stop worrying! The kid only gives the threats, he can't fight back." Blondie commeneted simply.

"Then don't pick a fight with someone who WON'T FIGHT BACK!" She smacked the medium-height boy across the back of the head sharply, while letting go of his ear. He hit the ground face first, lying there for a moment.

"V- Vaan.. Are you okay?" Miss mouse peered down over his shoulder.

"Just _fine._" He wiped blood from his nose, glaring at the pale, blonde haired female who had smacked him. "What the hell?" He asked her standing up.

"You shouldn't hurt people who don't fight." She looked back at him, brushing the majority of her bangs to her right, the rest sweeping left. They were annoying her at the moment, as they were always in her eyes. They needed a trim.

"B-But he was _looking_ at Padma!" He cringed for effect. "Like a little _perv__!_"

"That has nothing to do with anything." She crossed her arms over her orange tank that stopped an inch above her belly button, as well as her brown jacket, whose shoulders had straps over them a shade darker, and a suit-type look to the front. "Don't blame me when you go getting thrown in jail for harassment."

She turned to the female now known as Padma and grabbed her hand, walking away from the fuming boy standing in the middle of the sidewalk, bleeding profusely through his nose. "Gillian..." Padma began. "He didn't mean anything bad."

"Padma.." She started. "You're a good kid. I realize that, but he's going to have to grow up someday." She stopped walking, and turned into a darkened alley. "I'm not always going to be able to protect him... And you." Shade covered her front side, the right side of her face was darkened by it, and she looked pained, her fists clenched.

Padma cleverly ignored the female's comment and added, "But he's the same age as you."

"Just because he's 14 doesn't mean he's always going to _act_ 14." She chuckled lightly, rubbing the back of her neck, only feeling a little hair by the top of her hand, where her pinky was. She turned and faced the wall with no light on it, sliding down the opposite wall to the bottom.

Another one of her quick mood changes, Padma noticed.

It was cropped quite short, only two tassels on either side falling down to right below her shoulders. She sat in the sun against the small portion of the wall that held some. "He acts younger than you a lot of the time, and Padma, you're 12." Padma sat across from her.

Padma blushed at Gillian's comment, looking up when a shadow befell Gillian. She glanced up at the culprit blocking the warm light, glaring. "Vaan please. You know we don't need to draw attention. With you being an alchemist and Padma being a chimera... It would be stupid to get caught by a state alchemist or someone from the military," She muttered.

He sighed and walked over to sit down next to Padma, in the shade. "Not to mention they would check that bandage of yours."

Gillian glared at him and closed her eyes. "It's not like it's important..." She tilted her head back and sighed, returning to a thought, "If I was them I would be more curious of Padma's cute little mouse ears, anyway." She reached over and rubbed the mouse chimera's ears which were hidden by heavy bangs and braids.

"You know there are a lot of chimeras around, right?" Vaan reasoned.

"Yeah, _around_, being the key word here. Central is not somewhere a chimera should be. You know what they do to them." Gillian looked sideways, looking at an uninteresting trash can. She was avoiding his gaze.

"My _point_," Vaan emphasized, "Is that not everyone has something like that. There are more chimeras- heck, hundreds more chimeras, than those. It's a gnarly scar, seriously."

"Whatever Vaan, this conversation is over." And with that Gillian stood up and turned her back to them, walking down the alley. "I need to go steal us some dinner. Meet you back at home." She glanced over her shoulder for a second, her eyes peering back at Padma. She gave her the 'don't let Vaan do something stupid' look. She turned back to the task at hand and ran off.

* * *

**_Four years later..._**

"Ouch-" Gillain rubbed her temple. It was happening again. She was feeling distant, hazy almost. Things were blurry. Not only when she tried to see where she was, but in her head. What was she doing again? She couldn't remember.

It was like this more often than she would prefer. It would come at random times, some worse than others. These little 'episodes', as she would call them, started two years ago- or at least she though so. About two months ago they had starrted to come more frequently. She couldn't go a week without one. And they had gotten more painful.

They made her forget everything, it felt like her soul was being torn from her body. It was like an extreme out of body experience that left her waking up in alleyways after the feeling of seperation became too great and she would pass out.

She worked her way through a crowd quickly, and hurried to an alleyway, becoming dizzier by the second. This was usually the last thing she would remember, that she had to hide herself. It seemed important even if she forgot enough to not remember exactly why it was.

She hated hospitals... But that wasn't the only reason. The other being the fact that if she stayed in public someone might find her and see her scar.

That's what happened when she tried to move to Eastern Amestris.

But of course, by this time she had forgotten even her own name, and had crumpled into a lump on the ground behind some trashcans.

She never remembered what happened when she was passed out. It just didn't come back to her when she woke up. She knew something happened, like a dream or something, but she would never remember.

"Crap." Gillian muttered when she noticed the sun was going down already. She must have been passed out for five hours at least. She sat up and wiggled everything out, cracking her neck and standing up. It was just as painful as last time.

Wait- Wasn't this her third one this _week_? Gillian felt a pang in her chest, feeling as if she could be doing something about it. She felt like if she could just look deeper she could solve this problem.

She raced through familiar backstreets and stopped at a set of stairs in the back of an apartment complex that was long abandoned. It lead down ten short steps to a green door. It opened before she could even knock and she was pulled inside hasitly.

"Where have you _been_? You said you'd be back in an _hour_. It's been four and a half!" A tall, annoying, loud blond shouted at her.

"Save it, Vaan. I got caught up with something." Gillian lied easily.

"That's what you always say! It's always _something_! Not something specific either!" Vaan pushed her aside and slammed the door shut. He took a sharp breath and brushed his hair back with his hand. He cut it short a week ago and Gillian was still getting used to the shorter cut.

"I-"

"You know what? You save it." Vaan sat on a one person couch that was very old and worn. Brown stuffing was spilling out of the headrest and sides of the couch.

She hadn't exactly told them about her episodes. They would worry too much- It would be a pain. She didn't like to flaunt her superiority or her flaws. She kept her thoughts to herself. Well, if thoughts counted as passing out due to lack of bodily connection.

"I just wonder sometimes. Is it that you don't trust us? Or is it because you're doing something you shouldn't? Padma and I care about you deeply. You took us in when we were at our low points. We are forever indebted to you, you know that."

"It's... I'm... I'm sorry..." Gillian looked away from Vaan's blue eyes.

"All I want is to know if you're safe. Sometimes I begin to doubt that you'll even walk back into those doors at night." Vaan stood once more and pulled her into his arms, squeezing her tightly.

All Gillian could stand to do was hang her head against his chest and try not to let the thousands of tears she had ready to blow escape.

"I'm sorry."

* * *

And so after no dinner was had, Gillian left Vaan to his room, and walked in to see Padma in theirs.

"You're home." She noted. "I heard yelling though. What happened?" She looked up from some stitching she was doing on a shirt that had ripped. "And where's dinner?"

"Me and Vaan had a fight. And there isn't any." Gillian quickly though of an excuse. "I saw a state alchemist and some officers so it would be unsafe to risk getting caught." She saw a look in Padma's eyes that told Gillian she might start to cry, a rumble escaping her stomach. "I'm going for food in the morning, don't worry I'll come back with plenty." She smiled and walked over to her cot, reaching under for something wrapped in checkered cloth, handing it to her.

"It's the last I have.. Sorry 'bout that Lilypad." She began to take off her utility belt, as it was heavy. She sat down on her bed and looked away from Padma. Sometimes she couldn't stand the happiness on her face. It was like she knew it wouldn't last for long.

"Thank you!" Padma said and took a large bite out of he roll of bread.

"Don't mention it." She unpacked her belt's contents. A dart gun, her favorite necklace, a worn alchemy book, and some rope. She faceplanted onto her cot, dust poofing up in her wake.

* * *

**(Padma)**

"Are you okay Lia?" Padma peered over at Gillian.

"Just unbelieveably tired." Gillian rolled onto her back, looking at the small house they shared through the door. All Padma could see was the entrance room that held a lamp and a chair, a bathroom around the corner and Vaan's room around the opposite.

Gillian had found the place a year ago while fetching dinner. She had fallen down the stairs and given herself a few nasty bruises.

At the time they were living in the streets so this was like heaven for them. When it rained here they only got a little wet.

"If you're sure.." Padma sighed and handed her a bit of bread. "Take it." She said quietly. Sometimes it was hard to keep your spirits high around Gillian. She always thought of everything inside her head. She never let anyone know anything. Not only that but it had gotten worse- her lying.

"Thanks Padma." It was weird for Padma to be adressed by her first name by Gillian. Something was obviously up, and she was going to find out what it was soon.

* * *

**(Gillian)**

"Concentrate." She told herself. "It's easy." Vaan and Padma had gone to bed, and and despite her exhaustion, she went to the couch to practice.

She had always had a gift. She could make things move, but _without _touching them. Her dad had once called it telekenetic. She had never understood it, but if she concentrated hard enough or was under enough stress, she could move something.

"Alright.." She murmured. "Now you're going to lift the necklace and bring it to your neck. Lift.. Lift." She made a face and it shifted from the floor. She focused harder, the necklace being pulled up by the red tinted stone on it's end. it came towards her neck shakily. the ends of the metal rope extended and slowly but surely wrapped themselves around her neck, clasping in the back.

She realized she was holding her breath and let it out, the necklace falling down to her upper chest.

This necklace had been a present from her father. He had always wanted the best for her. He loved her dearly. It was a shame he left the living world so early.

She looked down to the alchemy book in her hands. It was small, red, and very worn. The title of the book was unreadable, and always was, as far as she knew. Inside were basic alchemy tricks, how to set up basic circles, how you should go about attempting the transmutation. She knew the book inside and out, yet she couldn't perform anything in it.

Why?

How about you tell her. It was the most annoying thing next to these episodes she would have.

Her dad had showed her this book, and it was the only one left from his research library that he had set up in their old home. The one she has burnt down...

_guuurgle_

There it was again. Her stomach rumbling. She must be really hungry, or at least she always was after practicing her telekenesis. it must take her a lot of energy.

She stood slowly, unsure if standing was even a good idea. She felt a pang in her chest and before she could even feel something close to an attack she was lying down on her cot, letting sleep take her.

* * *

**(Edward)**

"Ed..." A voice called to him. "Edward. Wake up."

"Mmmmmph." He rolled over, away from the voice.

"Wake up, damnit!"

"Uuuuuuunh..- Ouch! _DAMNIT Winry_!" Ed rubbed the back of his head where he could already feel a bump forming. "I told you not to do that!"

"And I told you to wake up! You're train leaves in two hours!" She crossed her arms.

"Ow.." Ed muttered, getting out of bed. It was a month since he had gotten back to his side of the gate, Eckheart put in her place. He was elated to be out of Germany, it was brighter here. Besides, he had his family back. "I'll be down in a minute."

"See you." And she left.

'How was he here?' You might ask. Well this lady, Eckheart, decided to open the gate to what she thought was Shamballa. Ed jumped on the chance, and got to his side, destroying Eckheart.

'Who destroyed the gate?' You might ask. The answer is quite simple, Alfons Heidrich.

And that was that. Here he was, living with Winry, Pinako, and Al.

Of course, this was only temporary. He was leaving for central today, to be reinstated as a state alchemist. He was also there to search for something. Something that had been in the back of his mind for a while now.

And he didn't remember what it was. He figured whatever it was, he would be reminded eventually.

* * *

_Roku: __Weeeel Hope you Liked and I'll see ya next time! _

_Ed: A lot will be explained later if anything was confusing. Ask Roku so he makes sure to clarify!_

_Winry: OH YEAH! Review or else! And one other thing.._

_Gillian: Or else what?_

_Winry: I'll hit you over the head with a wrench._

_Ed: *backs away* review..._

_Ed: Wait- What other thing?_

_Roku: Fan-fiction is still deleting stories than contain yaoi, yuri, lemons, violence, stories based on songs, and any detailed sex scenes…so…just about every story on the site. Most everyone knows of the petition going around. If you haven't signed it, the link is on DarkHeartInTheSky's profile. But there is more we can do._

I bet lots of you have heard about a Black Out Day on June 23rd(according to GTM timing, so that we know we're doing it together), don't go onto fan-fiction. Don't read, don't review, don't message your friends, don't update. If enough people participate, then the site will notice, and will realize we take our stories seriously.

Please spread the word any way you can, in any fandom! The motto is "Unleash Your Imagination." How can we if we're being given a LONG list of what we cannot write?

Gillian: I hope I don't get taken away *Sweatdrop*

_Envy: Once again, shut up and leave._

_All: *frown*_


	2. First Encounter

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, Arakawa does._

_Claimer: I do own Vaan, Padma, and Gillian._

_Four reviews? Yes. Glad someone likes this!_

_Gillian: I don't. I have so many issues! What the hell?_

_You should know that the main protagonist has to have _some_ kind of issue!_

_Ed: Yeah! I have a lot of problems..._

_Gillian: Shut up you don't anymore._

_Ed: But the author will change that, duh._

_Gillian: Good point._

* * *

**(Gillian)**

_Guuuurgle_

"Shut the hell up stomach," Gillian sternly told it.

It complied.

Padma was still sleeping, and since Vaan's door was closed he was probably asleep too. It was actually a little later in the morning than she hoped it would be; more people would be in the streets.

She stretched and packed her belt, remembering that last night was the fifth successful time she had moved the necklace and put it on herself. It was weird, but she felt like she was already partly disconnected this morning.

She just hoped she wouldn't get an attack today, as she had work to be done.

"I'll be back," She kissed Padma's forehead and tucked her into the worn blanket a little bit more than she already was. It was a little chilly down here for such a warm looking day.

She traded her orange tank top that stopped above her belly button for a black one, throwing her brown coat on once more. The coat was many years old, about 5, if she remembered correctly.

As old as her boots, brown like her jacket. They had large holes in the bottom and patches on top. She tied the laces as tight as they could go, and brushed off her jean shorts.

She went to the bathroom and then brushed out her hair(or at least what was there) quickly.

She had blonde hair, although it was quite dirty. She had a lot of bangs, most of them sweeping to the right. Two larger tassles hung to her shoulders, and the back was very short, only just reaching the top of her neck in a sort of bob cut.

It was easier to manage, plus it looked cute.

She looked at her caramel brown eyes once before leaving the mirror's sight and walking to the door.

She made sure she didn't forget anything, and left the small apartment, walking down two short alleys to the beginning of what one would think was a plaza.

In fact, it was a plaza, a large one. She went to this one every other week, spreading her stealing between four or five plazas as to not completely run them out of business.

She casually walked along, smiling to each passerby if they smiled first. She didn't show teeth, but at least she wasn't being a douche bag. The air felt different today, she realized as she walked by a stand grabbing a peach and pushing it up her large sleeve quickly with her middle and pointer fingers.

It was lighter- wait no. It was more of a.. It was.. Whatever, she decided, it must just be a very dry air today. Central could get quite muggy sometimes, you know. She walked by a military officer, which didn't bother her, they never caught her anyway. She wanted to sit and enjoy her small breakfast, and walked through a curtain to a ramen shop-

"Oof-" She grunted and fell back. The peach rolled out of her sleeve and she grabbed it quickly, casually holding the peach in her hand as if she bought it already.

"Watch it, kid." A tall woman(or was it just because Gillian was on her ass?) told her. She was in the military, wearing the new women's uniform. It was an extremely short miniskirt and a low cut v-neck jacket. Of course, the men still wore pants. The new Fuhrer changed it about a year ago. He claimed it was 'helping the feminist movement' and differing them from the men.

More like exposing them to rapists, if you asked Gillian.

"Sorry ma'am," She mumbled, taking the woman's hand and cleverly ignoring her calling Gillian a kid. She had dark green hair, it was kind of wispy, and wavy. It curled a lot at the tips and all but her bangs were tied back by a small grey bow. (1)

"It's alright." She looked behind her at another military officer. It looked like he was eating five things at once. "Not like it made my day less exciting."

"How much can one guy eat?" Gillian asked, glad she didn't notice the fear that was in Gillian's eyes for a minute there.

"That much." She stated as he finally seemed to stop, looking mortified. He had eaten too much.

Sure Gillian could eat that much, but that was because she barely ate anything. Plus she wouldn't scarf it down, no wonder the guy looked like he was gonna barf.

"Come on Colonel!" She called to the man with light blonde hair. You would almost think it was white.

He mumbled something incoherent and stood, holding his stomach and walking out ahead of the lady.

"See you around," She told Gillian and walked out, the curtain falling back into place.

"Damn." That was close. Good thing she was stupid, Gillian snickered. She sat in the corner of the shop, a few others taking the owner's attention. She bit down on the peach and had to hold back a moan of pleasure.

God it was so good. So good that the whole thing was gone in a minute, and she decided she would need more food.

And so Gillian left. She looked at clothes, almost got some new socks, but even she knew to only take what she needed. She wouldn't die without socks, would she?

No.

So she let them be, stocking up on two bananas, some bread, cheese, water, and another peach from a different vendor. This was half time. She would drop off lunch and go back out for a shit ton of other things for the rest of the week.

"Hello?" She called, knocking on the door. "Helloooo?" She called louder. She might have to use the broken window to get in.

Why weren't they answering? Vaan is always home at this time. God damnit! She silently cursed and kicked the door. It didn't budge.

* * *

**(Edward)**

"Wait!" He called. "Winry!" He leaned back against the outside wall of the inn they stayed at last night. Alphonse walked out of the building and looked at him. Ed began to walk towards a nearby plaza.

"What'd you do this time?" He asked, walking to Ed and falling into step beside him.

"Winry got mad at me because I forgot to remind her to bring her favorite wrench." Ed lied. She was actually mad at him because he hadn't changed. He may have been taller, but he just didn't meet Winry's expectations. He wasn't enough of a man for her tastes. She had expected too much out of his little trip to Germany, and now she turned the fault onto Edward.

"I see." Al commented. Ed couldn't see her anymore, but knew she would come back eventually.

It was early morning and no one could sleep. It was Ed's first time back in Central since he defeated Eckheart. He was here to see Mustang, to be reinstated as a State Alchemist. Al had suggested that he become one too, but Ed wouldn't allow it. He knew how dangerous it was to even be near a state alchemist, much less be one.

He couldn't risk losing Al again after all they'd been through.

They walked down the aisles of shops, vendors, and restaurants looking for something to do until Ed found it.

"Hey Al, come here." Ed slowed and walked into a clothing store.

"Why are we in here?" Al asked.

"I figure in order to start new, we should get something new." His eyes were locked on a Grey jacket. It was like his black one with the white stripe, or at least the collar was. The material was thicker, and it had two pockets on either side. It would look good with a black shirt and pants. Al already had his red jacket, so why not get a new one himself.

"Oh," Al was surprised at Ed's new found excitement for something. "I see what you mean!"

"Hm." Ed smiled and looked at it in a cracked mirror. He was never one for clothes, but it looked nice. There was a white lining inside. He looked older. His face more grown out, all of his baby fat gone. He was as tall as the average man, being 19. And not only that but he had ditched the braid. It seemed childish, and so he kept his hair in a ponytail that was slightly higher than eye level. Even his hair was changing, he realized.

"I like it!" Al exclaimed, grabbing the jacket's arm.

Ed shrugged it off and bought it. And as they were walking out of the store, a girl walked by, her shoulder brushing right below. She was a dirty blonde in a brown jacket, and he couldn't help but feel a chill when she looked back. It was a feeling he hadn't gotten from someone in a while. It was inviting yet something he feared.

She turned away thinking nothing of it, it seemed.

And Al just looked at his confused brother as they walked away. 'What does that feeling mean?' He asked himself, replacing the new jacket on his shoulders.

* * *

**(Gillian)**

"Ungh." Gillian grunted as she pulled herself up and out of the broken window and back to the alley. She placed the dumpster back in front of it and brushed off some dust.

Now where the hell are they? She asked herself.

* * *

**(Vaan)**

And so for the third time in the chapter, another random meeting ensues.

Vaan was out of it. He was upset and mad. He had left the apartment last night and had been walking until he passed out behind a store. He woke up feeling crappy, and was just plain annoyed.

"Ouch!" A high pitched voice said as she stumbled back. Vaan caught her by her waist before she could fall over, their eyes connecting for a second before she looked down again. She had platinum blonde hair, a high ponytail, and more spiky than not bangs.

"I'm so sorry," He told her, letting go. Her cheeks were red. Was she just crying? "A- Are you alright?" He asked carefully. All of his previous anger dissipating.

"Not exaclty." She looked back up at him with big blue eyes.

"Here, Let's go sit at the park." He would have offered to get her food but he was broke.

"I-It's fine. I don't want to be a nuisance."

"No, you're fine. Really, I wan't to." He reassured her. He didn't have anything better to do.

"Alright.." And so he reached around her shoulder and they walked in a comfortable silence to central park, which was only ten minutes away.

'Wait..' He thought to himself. 'Since when was I such the ladies man?'

"Hey-" The girl started "Do you mind if I ask who you are?" She looked up at him, not shying away from his gaze. He could see something hidden behind her eyes.

"Uh- Vaan." He looked at her expecting a reply to his silent question.

"Oh- Oops! Winry." She stopped walking and held out her hand. "Winry Rockbell."

'What a pretty name.' He thought. "Nice to meet you." He shook her hand and within two minutes they reached a park bench, and were sitting down to talk.

"So what brings a pretty girl like you out alone in Central on such a nice day?" Vaan began. Again, he was confused at how easy it was to flirt with her.

"I.. I had a fight with my friend." He could practically hear her blushing.

"That's all?" Vaan raised his eyebrow.

"Well it was a bad one. You see, i haven't seen him in two years..." She looked at her thumbs and twiddled them. "I called him out for not changing enough. It- I know it's wrong that I expected him to change so much I just-"

She stopped talking. "I think you used to love him." Vaan decided.

If Winry had water in her mouth it would be everywhere. "And why do you find that to be something you tell a girl you just met?"

"Are you denying it?" He questioned her.

"Well.. No.." She looked away.

"I think I know what happened, though." Vaan started. "When he left did you cry?"

"All the time.."

"Did you know if he was coming back?"

"N.. No.." She was wondering if lying would help her case here, Vaan could hear it in her voice.

"When did you realize you loved him?" He asked.

"About a year after he left.." She sighed. "I felt so dumb to not have done anything about it sooner."

"And here's your problem." Vaan concluded. "You didn't even consider liking him while he was still with you right?"

"Maybe once, but-"

"But nothing. When he left, you didn't know if he was going to come back, you didn't have any closure. You had no way of knowing if you'd ever see your friend again." He explained, placing his arms behind his head and leaning back. "Your mind has a funny way of making you blame yourself for everything. And the way you blamed yourself was convincing you liked him more than you actually did. Because if you did love him you could blame yourself for not stopping him from doing something, or you could have kept him from leaving. But you didn't, and that's how you know you didn't love him. Or, at least in the romantic way."

"So why did I get mad at him?" She seemed to want to know very badly.

"Because you thought you loved him. Over those two years you made him seem so much more important, a better person, you might have even changed his looks. And by the time you saw him again, all that pretending crashed down on you when you realized he wasn't the saint you thought he was."

She sat there for a minute, contemplating if Vaan was bullshitting her or not. "It.. makes sense."

And at that moment Vaan broke out into a small fit of manly(they really weren't) giggles. He didn't have half a clue to what he just said even meant. It was pure luck that it made sense by the end.

* * *

**(Gillian)**

"Padma!" She called, waving her hand up in the air to alert her.

Padma turned on her heel and her eyes lit up. She jogged the rest of the way to Padma and got a serious face. "Where have you been?"

"I'm sorry! Vaan disappeared and I just had to look for him! I couldn't be content not knowing where he was, could I?" She looked tired.

"Here come sit down with me." Gillian patted a spot next to her in an alley. "So how long have you been looking, where did you look, and what do you think happened?"

"Um well I started looking after you left because I realized he wasn't in his room.. I looked all over south Central, I haven't checked north or west parts of the city.. And I think you know the answer to that last one." Padma looked at me expectantly.

"Lilypad.. You can't expect me to-" Gillian stopped and saw Padma's angry face. "Fine. The fight last night was worse than usual, I guess. He might have left in the middle of the night.. Or even last night."

"Gillian!" Padma cried. "What happened?"

"He's just worried that I might not come home one day, or something.." Gillian pretended to not know as much as she did.

"Or something?" She looked at her like an angry mother that was about to spank her for lying. "I honestly don't know! He's confusing me!" Gillian looked distressed, although it was all part of the show to get Padma off of her case.

"Let's head back home. I want lunch." Padma suggested to break the silence.

"Alright."

Thirty minutes later they reached the hideout. They entered through the window since Vaan was out(they had decided he just went to blow off steam) and stopped when they saw something move in the hallway.

"Come out!" Gillian warned. "Or I'll have to hurt you!" She turned the corner with her fist raised, ready to punch-

"Lia?" Vaan called. "Lily pad?" They saw him step out into the main room.

"Where have you been?" Gillian demanded.

"What, no welcome home?" He asked.

* * *

**(Vaan)**

"It's getting later in the day. Vaan pointed out. "We should probably get moving towards our homes."

"Listen, Vaan." Winry started. They had been talking for two hours about little adventures with family and friends. Small talk it was, but it was nice. Vaan never got outside or met new people. Gillian always had him on his guard. "Do you think we could, um, hang out again?" She was blushing.

"Yes, for sure!" He insisted. She was fun to talk to, much less beautiful. "But when? I don't have a phone."

"Why don't we set a date now?" She suggested, linking arms with him as he began to walk her home.

"Y-Yeah." He thought of a good time. Probably closer to night, when Gillian went out for dinner runs. "How about we meet at your place?" He suggested casually.

"And then we'll see where it takes us from there?" She asked.

"So.. Thurdsay?" He suggested. That would mean two days since today was Tuesday.

"Sounds good." She agreed. He smiled at her and she smiled back.

Once they reached her inn, he quickly and awkwardly hugged her and sent her on her way, the last thing he thought before sprinting home was, 'I wonder what Gillian and Padma did today?'

* * *

_(1)- You can see a picture of her on my profile; it's my profile picture.  
_

_Ten bucks everyone can guess who the Fuhrer is...  
_

_Ed: Ummmm-_

_You don't know anything about Amestris anymore so you can't participate_

_Ed: Damnit!_

_Hehe! _

_Anyway thank you to Lefay Strent, BakuBachiBan, GapuPaku, and YourSecretStalker and for reviewing._

_Vaan: Don't forget to leave us a review telling us what you liked, didn't like,-_

_Winry: I know what I liked. *winks*_

_Ed: ummmmm_

_Padma: And we'll see you next time with more surprises!_


	3. Scar

_Roku:Welcome back! I don't really need to say anything, but that it might be short(heh nevermind..it's my longest chapter yet). But the next one will make up for that(meaning that it'll be even longer0-0) , Oh! And I'll have a preview of the next chapter up on my profile. It's a new thing I added:D_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, Arakawa does._

_Claimer: I do own Vaan, Padma, and Gillian._

* * *

**(Vaan)**

"What, no welcome home?"

"We've been worried _sick_!" Gillian walked up to him and put her pointer finger on his chest. "I'm glad you're safe but you could have at least told _Padma_ of all people!" She was honestly just yelling at him because she knew Padma wouldn't.

He coughed and Gillian sent him a glare, which soon turned into recognition.

"Oh." She looked at him. "I-"

Padma looked between them. "I'll be in our room," She told them, quickly bowing and rushing out.

"Ah-" Gillian reached for Padma, but the curtain that was in place of a door fell back in place as she was already in the room.

"Hey now, where're you going?" Vaan asked her, looking smug.

"I.. Uh.. I'm tired..?"

"I.. Uh.. Don't think so?" Vaan said in a mocking tone.

"Oh shut up.." She looked down again.

"Oh come on drop the act you hypocrite." He grinned. "C'mere."

"Heh." She smiled and walked over to hug him. But for some reason her smile seemed fake. Sure she was smiling, but it felt like there were no feelings behind it. She didn't feel that little twinge of whatever made her smile in her heart. She was pretty sure it was what you would call happiness, but sometimes she could be pretty devoid of it. For about two years now...-

She mentally slapped herself, reminding herself she wasn't supposed to think about that_ incident_ ever again.

"Now you see why I worry about you. But don't worry, I was just talking with someone."

"Oh, who?" She backed up and just looked at him.

"This girl I ran into who was crying. Her name was Winry, she's pretty cool." He smiled. "In fact, I have a date with her in two days.."

"You _idiot_! She could expose us if you get too close to her. That's why we don't make connections with other people. You know what happened in Eastern City." Long story short, Padma got too close to a young boy whos parents happened to be in the military. Unluckily, they were strictly military, and so they almost took her from them. That's what placed them back in Central.

"Don't worry!" He assured her. "She talked the whole time."

"I just.. It's hard to sneak onto trains.. And it's impossible to walk anywhere without being caught for 'snooping around'. I don't want to move again, after we just got settled down." Even though they had settled here two years ago, they had gone through 5 places, this one being the only one that wasn't sold out to new people and renovated.

"It's fine. I won't tell her anything. I'm sure it'll be over in less than a week." Vaan must have gotten better at lying, because Gillian didn't catch on to how much of a lie he just told.

"Alright, well I think we should get some rest. Tomorrow we get to go shopping with Padma."

* * *

**(Edward)**

Ed woke up in not the best mood. Last night he had come home from shopping to a boy dropping Winry off at the front of the inn. Not only that, but they hugged to top it off. She was blushing profusely afterwards, flaunting her happiness in Ed's face.

Was it like this the whole time he was gone? Did she go out with other men this frequently? _Right _after he got back from Germany too! Who knows what she could have been doing on those 'walks' she so often went on in the first month they were back in Risembool!

Did... She even miss him while he was gone those two years?

_'Of course, you idiot.'_ His better side tried to convince him.

Well obviously if she did, they would have made up by now.

_'You know Winry's stubborn.. Give her some time and she'll come around.' _

A good point.. But somehow this time felt different. All Ed could draw from the situation was that Winry didn't care about him, and that he was left in the dust to re-think all of those thoughts he had about her.

Some were about how it would be if they were reunited, other's (most of them) were about.. About them being _together,_ together...

But like he mentioned earlier, this time felt different.

She hadn't even bothered to talk to him afterward. Didn't ask him how his day was, much less apologize.

In fact, she talked to Al about her day in deep detail, relishing every moment of it. Ed tried to say something to her when she left the room, but her ego was too high for her to even give him a passing glance. If she was going to give him the silent treatment... Well let's just say that two can play at that game.

"Ed." Al peeked into the room. "Winry-"

"Yeah yeah, I don't care."

"No, Ed." Al was actually calling him brother less. brother was usually used to express hurt or anger. Of course using Edward, his full first name, meant something was seriously wrong. "She said she's staying in the house today, so I was wondering if you wanted to go get new gloves."

"Oh, um sure, Al!" Getting out of the house would do his head some good. The conflicting emotions inside his head wouldn't leave. "Let me just grab my coat and put on my boots."

"Sure, I'll be right back with my shoes as well."

Before they left Ed grabbed a peach and bit down. He had grown to love the taste of them. It would be a cheap breakfast.

Then again, when him and Al walked outside, it wasn't exactly breakfast time. "Jeesus, Al. How long was I asleep?" He asked incredulously.

"It's about one in the afternoon, Ed. You would think after turning into an adult you'd ditch that habit of sleeping in." He chuckled.

"Yeah, you'd think."

* * *

**(Gillian)**

"Good morning Padma." She ruffled the young chimera's hair and rubbed her now visible ears. There were grey hairs showing up on Padma's head, almost as if they were turning the color of her mouse ears. Gillian wondered why they hadn't already, but since she knew close to nothing about alchemy or making chimeras, she couldn't guess as to why now.

"Good morning." She smiled and looked up at Gillian, sitting up.

"Are you ready to go shopping?" She asked while throwing off her black tank top. Then she put on her orange tank she had washed early this morning. She put it by the vent so it was dry. But it was also cold. "It's close to ten thirty so I think we should get moving. I'll go wake up Vaan." She put on her jacket and zipped it up. It was cold down here today.

"Alright," Her soft voice replied, muffled from Gillian turning the corner and walking into Vaan's room.

"Wake up sleepy head-" She pulled the covers off of Vaan. It may seem harsh, but Gillian knew from experience that he would not wake up other wise. Unless there was warm food, but that didn't happen often.

"Ah!" He flew up from the cot. "I'm up!" He exclaimed. He was shirtless and pantless, only wearing boxers that were a tad too big. Gillian always silently thanked whoever gave him boxers that were too big. It was probably the trash can, but she still thanked it, because that meant they weren't too small on him. Which was by far, as one could imagine, worse.

"Hey- give me that!" He yanked the blankets out of her hands and covered himself. "Stop doing that!" He scolded, blush very evident on his face.

Gillian closed her eyes and held out her right hand palm up, leaning towards the opposite side, "I wouldn't have to if you didn't have issues waking up." She wished she didn't have to either. Vaan was... Vaan. And as his technical sister/mother she shouldn't have to see that kind of stuff. "Anyway we need to get going. Padma has been looking forwards to getting new cloth for us for a while now and we are going with her."

"Fine I'll be out in a minute calm yourself." He drug out the 'f' in yourself, rolling over.

"You got five minutes to be out with us or you're gonna get it." she flipped her bangs once again, pissed that they were in her way. This was the twelfth time today. "Also I'll need you to cut my hair a bit." She commented before leaving and walking back to Padma's room.

* * *

Sporting a new look, her bangs cut straight across instead of flipped, Gillian lead Padma to a plaza to the east. Vaan had cut them with a knife he had transmuted from the floor, seeing as he could make them more like scissors than one of Gillian's razors she kept in her boot. He was a gifted alchemist, and would have eventually become a part of the military had he been brought up properly.

There was a tailor shop that they had never been to before, and Gillian figured they would have nice cloths(a/n: Yes I meant cloths not clothes) to try out. Padma loved stitching. She loved making new clothes for them, and she even did embroidery. She had to do something on the days that Gillian went food shopping, and so she taught herself to sew.

"Here," She grabbed Padma's free hand and pulled her into the tailor shop. Padma's other hand held a bag which looked like it was full, when in truth it was empty. She had just made it, and Vaan had the idea to line it with metal to make it look full. Gillian would have to start using that for shopping trips.

Padma's eyes glittered, and she rushed in, now pulling Gillian's hand instead.

She walked up to white cloths, and some with patterns on them. There was even a silver cloth. There were outline books among the shelves, that would tell you how to make various scarfs, hats, coats, etc. Buttons and different colored threads lined one wall nicely. There was even one with different transmutation circles that you could embroider onto gloves for easy transmuting.

Gillian finally got out of Padma's grasp and went to go stand by Vaan. It was almost heartwarming to see her run around like a kind in a candy shop.

After she got what she wanted, she walked out looking sad. It was for the effect that she had no more money and could not purchase anything. The shop keeper gave her his condolences and she walked away with a smirk on her face, snickering.

Padma was quite innocent, due to her mouse parts, but she had a knack for getting away with stealing. It was probably because she was so young.

"How much did you get?" Gillian asked, Padma handing her bag to her nonchalantly. It instantly fell to the ground, as she wasn't expecting that much weight all at once. "I'll take that as a lot." Gillian puled it back up from the ground and handed it to Vaan. "Here, you guys, we need some food, so why don't we head back to the house and drop off Padma's stuff so we can bring this bag with us." Not only that, but Gillian had left her belt back at the house, and felt nearly useless without it.

"Sounds good."

* * *

'What the...' Gillian thought to herself at the same time Vaan and Padma said the same thing out loud.

The alchemical lock Vaan always put on the door was broken. Not alchemiclly, but it seemed like someone knocked the door in, and the metal that he welded couldn't hold the weight.

Gillian pulled the razor out of her left boot(she was a lefty) and held it in front of her. "Watch my back and protect Padma." She whispered to Vaan, the door creaking open slowly. Gillian turned around in a quick circle, seeing that no one was in the living room. She moved on to their room, then the bathroom, and Vaan's room.

Whoever had been here was no longer present.

"It's safe! Gillian called them in. She then walked to her room and went to grab her belt which lay under the cot. Or at least it should have been there. Instead it was on top of her bed. Her dart gun and Rope were still there, but her book was missing, along with her necklace.

She looked all over the bed, and they were missing. She looked under the bed and only found empty space, and a few blankets. She clutched her chest- wait. Her necklace was _on_ her. She had never taken it off from her last practice. She sighed heavily.

After thoroughly checking out the rest of the house, it seemed as only her book had been taken.

"We need to find whoever broke in. They have my book." She strapped her larger belt around her waist, tying the gun and rope into the pocket on the belt. "You guys go to to the east plaza we were at today and get food. I'll go west to the other close plaza and see what I can find."

They merely nodded in response. Gillian left first, bounding up the short wall and onto the sidewalk, working her way around the alleys once again.

* * *

Gillian walked quickly, her bandages around her leg were almost ruined completely. She needed medical tape as quick as possible. She had been looking for the person who had stolen her book for an hour or two by now. At one point a car splashed water on her, and her bandages got wet. Seeing as they were heavily ripped and worn anyway, they were threatening to fall off.

She moved through the streets, people looking back at her when she didn't apologize for bumping into one of them. If someone saw it they would probably ask questions. It wasn't your normal scar.

For one, it didn't go away. She had tried to cut it off, burn it off, scrape it off, and so many more. It didn't work. Not only that but there weren't any scars around the scar that were left over from the attempts of ridding herself of it.

Two, It was red. Not like a faded skin color. it was red, almost like it was a tattoo.

Third? She's rather not describe it to herself again.

She saw the Tailor shop she usually went to and walked in, seeing only a few people. Two people that looked like brothers at the desk, a mom with a little girl on the other side, and a tall man looking a designs in a sketchbook on the other side of the counter.

She walked to the self repair section and spotted the tape. She casually reached over and grabbed it, 'inspecting it'.

"Can I help you ma'am?" The man with the sketchbook asked me, walking over. Heat rose up her back and crawled up her neck to the top of her head.

"Um no I've got it." She smiled and started to turn away, sliding the tape up her sleeve as always.

"Miss?" He asked me. "What's in your hand?" Shit.

"Nothing, what gave you that idea?" She scoffed and kept walking to the door slowly.

"I can see it, your sleeve got bunched up. Stop walking and hand me the tape." He walked towards her and he grabbed Gillian's wrist. She yanked her arm away, the tape coming out and rolling to the feet of one of the brothers. He was taller and had long blonde hair tied up in a ponytail. She practically dove for it, the guy yelling, "Hey kid, she's gonna steal that stop her!"

She grabbed the roll, realizing it was bigger than She had thought, then turned and bolted.

"Stop!" Gillian heard a different voice say. She knew not to turn around so she kept running, turning into an alley and weaving around it and others around until Gillian thought she had lost him. "Return the medical tape!"

Blue sparks flew by her feet along the ground and suddenly a wall sprouted from the ground.

"I've got you now- Hey, I saw you yesterday!" He pointed at me. His ponytail swished to the right.

"Woah now. So are you my stalker?" Who the hell was this guy? "Were you the one that broke into my house?" Anger flared in her. Before he could reply she charged, "It was you wasn't it?" She would beat her way through him and get him to tell her why he decided to take her book.

"Wait!" He blocked her first punch and she rolled back into fighting stance, the roll of tape now around Gillian's wrist.

"Why should I wait for a thief?" She told him.

"Because you're one!" That stopped her.

"I'm listening."

"One, I have no idea who broke into your house. and Two, I would never stalk a criminal."

"Taking one roll of medical tape makes me a criminal?" She asked him.

"Well- Whatever. Now give me the roll of tape and I can be on my way."

"Not gonna happen." And he charged. He switched his weight to his left foot and pushed off, aiming for her abdomen. She rolled away and swept her foot out backwards.

He jumped over it and she sprinted the other way, back into the street with pedestrians. She walked fast, realizing that her bandage ripped off. how long ago she had now clue, but now that it seemed she lost him, she ran the rest of the way to the house, not sure if she should tell Padma what happened.

* * *

**(Edward)**

She was in the shop, Ed felt it with his back turned. The only reason he was so persistent at chasing her was the vibe he was getting from her. He had stopped her in an alley and looked her over quickly. Nothing had seemed out of the ordinary, or at least he didn't think so. He dodged a punch from her, deciding if he fought with her he could get a better look at her, maybe he would be able to see if she was even human.

No human he had met had given off that bell in the back of his head when they walked by.

He jumped at her, not realizing that she was quite that agile. She dodged, he dodged, then she ran.

He checked his memory quickly, remembering a red mark on her leg where-

_there._

Her bandage laid in the middle of the alleyway. He couldn't see it clearly, but there was something under the tape. She probably just took that tape to cover it up again.

If he saw her again he wouldn't let her get away.

"Ed!" Al finally caught up to him, handing him the new jacket he had left at the shop. "He told us to come back tomorrow for the gloves."

"I lost her." He told him somewhat breathlessly. "But if you ever see her again, tell me. There's something I need to see."

* * *

_Roku: Legasp! Gillian's first encounter with Ed! Surely this won't be the last time, unless this isn't supposed to be EdxOC... _

_Ed and Gillian: It isn't *looks innocent*_

_Roku: I know you're lying. The script for chapter (EEP!) says otherwise..._

_Ed: *grumble mutter grumble*_

_Roku: What was that? *Looks over at Izumi who is getting prepped for the filming of a different fan fic appearance* _

_Ed: *gulps* Nothin'..._

_Roku: Thought so._

_Padma: Roku would like to thank all of those who have reviewed, alerted, fav'ed, etc._

_Vaan: And in case you like Humor, LeFay Strent and Roku made a humorfic type oneshot. It's pretty funny so give it a go! *dazzling smile* It's called, 'You Take Away my FMA'_

_Al: Also be sure to tune in next time so we can introduce some more OC's! _

_Roku: Oh! And don't forget to review or else I'll never update again!_

_Gillian: *whispers* You know that won't happen.. You love this idea t-_

_Roku: *chokes Gillian* Um.. anyway! Review and I'll see you next time!_

_Vaan: Yeah see you next time! _


	4. Secrets

_Whenever you see a Number in between parenthesis like this, (1), scroll to the bottom and read the little note as clarification._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, Arakawa does. _

_Calimer: I do own Gillian, Padma, and Vaan._

* * *

**(Ed)**

"Do I have to?" Ed whined to Alphonse, slowing down and dragging his feet.

"Yes! If you want to become a state alchemist again you'll have to talk to Mustang first!" They walked down a street, coming to the gates of Central Headquarters.

"State your business," A guard stuck a metal rod in front of them.

"Fullmetal Alchemist, here to see Mustang." He looked intently at the guard.

"Sir, the Fullmetal Alchemist is missing-"

"Well now he's found, got it? Now let me see him."

"Mr. Alchemist, I think he may be busy."

"Busy with what? 'paperwork'?" Ed scoffed.

"I'm sure the Fuhrer has more important things than to-"

"The Fuhrer?" Ed pushed up the sleeves on his jacket. "He has some explaining to do!" He rushed past the guards and transmuted the gate bars to bend so he and Al could get through. He rushed up to the double doors and into the building, rushing around until he saw a familiar face.

"Havoc!" Ed called, jogging over to the smoker, an unlit cigarette in his mouth. He was probably on his way outside to have it.

"Huh?" He looked up and over at the two boys, confusion passing over his face. "Uh, I, wait... Alphonse? Been a while! Haven't seen you in half a year, jeeze!" He rubbed the shorter boy's hair. "You cut it." He noticed.

"Heh, yeah." Al shrugged and looked over at Ed who was fuming a little bit at being ignored.

"Ah-" He looked at the red faced boy. "E..d? What the.. I haven't seen you in a while!"(1)

"Yeah!" He grinned. "Good to see a familiar face again." There was a mutual feeling of relief as they shook hands.

"How have you been- I mean, you've been _missing_ for..."

"A little over two years." Ed finished for him. "Good, dealing with what comes at me..." Anger flared for a split second after Havoc spoke again.

"Well hey, You're tall now!" Havoc grinned.

"I've been growing a lot more ever since Al got his body back." Ed looked at a wall, and then back at Havoc. "So, um about.. about Mustang."

"Ah... Um well he's the Fuhrer now. He's visiting HQ today so you're in luck.. Do you need to see him?" He looked at Ed expectantly.

"I need to talk to him about being reinstated as a state alchemist." Ed still looked visibly ticked.

Havoc gave Al an odd glance but he sent him that, '_Shh he doesn't know._' look and Havoc let it slide. He decided smoking could wait a second, and led Ed up to the conference floor.

"So Havoc-" Ed began, about to ask how he had been.

"It's actually Major Havoc, to you."

"Answered my question..." Ed mused, "Two ranks?"

"Hell yeah!" They reached the top of the stairs and walked until Jean stopped at a large Mahogany door. "Here's your stop." He knocked.

"Come in," Mustang's voice rang.

"Stay out here," Ed told Al. He merely nodded in reply.

"Nice seeing you and good luck, Fullmetal." He opened the door and shoved Ed in, despite the obvious want to be done with this on his face.

Al decided to stay out of the room, suddenly looking very nervous.

* * *

**(Al)**

"You didn't tell him, huh?" Havoc grinned at the boy.

"I didn't know how to tell him.. He'd be furious." Al twiddled his fingers.

"Well I bid you good luck. Make sure it doesn't take you half a year to talk to me again." Havoc made an effort to stare at Al's pocket as he walked by.

Al instinctively stuck his hand in his pocket, rubbing his thumb over his state alchemist's watch.

* * *

**(Ed)**

"Hey Al, where're you going?" He called as Al walked further down the hall.

"I'm going to go get lunch, I'm starving. I'll meet you by the west gate." He smiled like he was hiding something, but Ed shrugged it off, turning again to the door hiding this mystery woman.

The chair was turned to the window, another figure in the room straightening books out. It brought back memories, seeing Mustang and Riza in the same room.

She looked up from the book shelf, "What is your business?" She asked as Mustang turned around.

"Damn it Mustang, how the hell did you become Fuhrer?" His voice rang out, glaring at his one eye. His eye patch still covering the one that Archer shot.

"Ah-" He looked at Ed, shocked to say the least. Riza had the same expression. "You got taller." he stated bluntly, Riza's eyes fell.

"Roy.." She scolded, whacking his head softly with a book. Then she looked up at Ed. "We thought you were gone..."

"If I had one Cen for every time I've heard that and or will hear that in the next week..." Ed contemplated.

"So you're back." Mustang tried to continue what little conversation there was a second ago.

"You know it." Ed grinned, pointing his thumb at himself, "You can't get rid of me that easy."

"Damn." Mustang deadpanned.

"Roy," Riza scolded again. "Ask him what his business is and what he's been doing for the past two years." Ed sweatdropped. It seemed like Riza was making all of his decisions.

"First of all," He began. "How did you get here. Then we can deal with the present."

And so he began, taking a seat in a chair. "After I died," Ed gave Mustang an '_ask me later_' look, skimming over details as he did not want to remember that day. "I went through the gate.. To the other side." The group's eyebrows raised. "It's a place called Germany, in a country called Europe. A woman named Eckheart decided opening the gate would be a good idea, and opened it once. Soilders crossed the gate, but they came back dead after I opened the gate accidentally." Recognition struck in Mustang's face. Ed remembered Al telling him that the first time was in Central. "After that she was in the middle of building the portal, when someone opened the gate from the other side, bringing out a large ship from Eckheart's time.. I came out in East City.

She was destroyed before even passing through the gate, and after I cleaned up the mess that my small plane left, and I destroyed the gate on this side, I went South to Risembool to find Winry, and Al was already with me as it turned out he was the one that opened the gate in East City. This was about a month ago.

You don't have to worry about the gate opening again though, as I had told a man named Alfons Heidrich to destroy the gate on the other side before I left. They were using Envy- he turned into a serpent... And he was used to open the gate. I had a hunch that if Envy was killed there would be no way of opening the gate. The men decided that it wasn't worth it to go through the gate after their only ship and leader were destroyed by yours truly. I'm not sure how everything is back in Germany, after all I left that place in the hands of a boy who was about to die... But I'm confident he managed something. I am very confident if he killed Envy that the portal would no longer work." He repeated himself. It was a topic he had avoided. Always wondered if Alfons really managed it. But his confidence was strong, as they managed to destroy the gate on this side, which meant the gate on the other side should be gone too, right?

It was then that Mustang asked questions, and Ed clarified small things. It was a lot more simple to explain than Ed had thought it would be. Not only that, but he had automatically told Roy everything. He hadn't even second thought it. Maybe he trusted him more than he remembered.

"I would like a full report, with dates to your best ability. Of course, if you're here for what I think you are, you'll be handing it to someone entirely different."

"I would like to become a state alchemist again." Ed told him.

"As I thought. For now you will go meet your new superior officer. I will have sent to her by the time you arrive. She's two doors down from my old office to the left. Since you were only MIA, and not marked dead... Either way please be timely, as I would like to watch your mock battle this afternoon, before I leave tomorrow for East City."

"Wait, don't I have a choice between what I do?"

"I would like to see how you fight. That is final. Have her call me when introductions are complete. I will judge whether or not you are reinstated."

"Still as annoying as ever," And with that, Ed opened the doors and walked out of the room.

* * *

Padma yelped quietly looking up suddenly, poking herself in the finger with the needle and thread she was using to make another bag. Looking over at Gillina who was sleeping soundlessly, she smiled at her friend's beauty. her tassels of dirty blonde were tangled, the short hair as well. No matter what happened to her, she still looked beautiful.

She wondered why Gillian was gone for such long times occasionally, always looking tired when she returned. Was getting food that much work? Really?

Padma stood and walked to te bathroom to wash up a little, thinking about breakfast. It was already around noon but she still hadn't eaten. On the counter was a note adressed to herself and Gillian. '_Went for a walk with Winry, be back later. ~3 Vaan_'.

A moaning sound was heard from behingd her, the sleeping beast had awakened. She looked at Padma with wide-ish eyes and scratched her head.

"You're awake?" She asked.

"Yeah. Gotta go out… Need to get food for us." Gillian seemed so dazed, something wasn't right. She vowed to follow Gillian and figure out what was going on. Padma was fed up with being worried all the time, with beign the one who never helped. She was so useless, only using Vaan and Gill for protection.

"If you say so. Be safe Gill, come back soon." She hugged the tired girl who looked somewhat pained, and let her leave without a return of words.

After the door closed, Padma waited but a minute before leaving the house quickly and tripping, hitting her face on the wall across the stairs. She screamed and turned against the wall, backing up into it and looking at the motionless body. All that she could see was a faint shakey like breathing sound. "Gillain!" She screamed. She lay there with blood around her mouth, looking hurt, and her hand on her chest, clutching it. She still looked beautiful.

* * *

"God Damn." Edward walked into the room formerly occupied by Roy Mustang. "I really hope you aren't as annoying as Mustang was!" He called into the room as he pushed the doors open. Inside the room sat a woman with green hair.

Despite the fact that it was a lighter green, she had bangs, and it was tied back by a grey bow, Edward could feel a twinge of fear as he remembered Izumi's hair was a green tint too, despite the fact it was much darker than this woman's. Their faces matched with ferocity.

"Well I certainly hope you don't think so, but I sure as hell don't think you'll find me as soft as Mustang." She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "I'm General Dona LeFay, your new Superior officer- That is, if you pass the exam again."

'_Maybe I don't want to pass the exam again.._' Ed gulped.

"Oh, and that airhead with his head in a book is Colonel Peter Armand Allen, a very important part of my team." the things she just said seemed to contradict themselves.

The man had platinum blonde hair, almost white. "huh?" He looked at LeFay due to hearing his name. Then his eyes trailed to Ed and realization slowly, but surely, grew on his face. "Nice ta meetchya!" He stuck out his hand and grinned with a large smile. "I hope we get to work together, I think we'll get along just fine!" A glint of light reflected off of his green eyes, the youth of his personality reflected in his face too. He was quite young.

'_oh gate_' Edward thought reasonably.

Then the door opened, and another girl walked in. Younger than the other adults, but older than Ed by at least two years. "Oh dear! I'm sorry, did I interrupt something?"

"No. Edward Elric, I'd like you to meet Chief Warrant Officer Five, Taylor Riley. She is my assistant."(2)

"Heh." She walked quickly past Ed and set down a stack of papers, bowing towards the General. It seemed as she was afraid of her as well. "I-" She coughed and turned to Edward. "Chief Warrant Officer Five Taylor Riley, the Fuhrer's niece, and General LeFay's assistant. Pleased to meet you Mr. Fullmetal." She held out her left hand, shaking Ed's left as well.

"So formal," He pointed out. "Call me Ed, and I'll call you Chief Riley, capiche?" He turned to LeFay after Riley left.

"You are an Elric, right?" She asked.

"Correct."

"Does that mean you are Alphonse's brother? The missing one?"

"Ah-" Ed didn't know exactly what to say.

"So it is you. I've heard so much from him. It'll be interesting to be able to fight you." She had heard from.. Al? The hell? At least he knew who he was fighting.

"So when exactly does this fight begin?" he smirked to hide his little bit of fear he had towards fighting her.

"As soon as I get a drink." She pulled out a bottle of who-knows-what and started downing it.

"She does that a lot." Allen told him, suddenly right next to his ear.

"-Shit!" Ed jumped away. "I-I'll be waiting down by the west gate that leads to the outdoor range.." He left, and cleverly avoided mentioning that they were supposed to call Mustang.

* * *

(1) Read the really big explanation Ed gives Mustang below this bit. It's going to explain everything so don't get you knickers in a twist;)

(2) I have full permission to use this name, as well as LeFay's name. They would have been altered more, but by request of LeFay have not been changed further.

_Soooo Yeah! I don't have too much to say. These random hiatuses are normal for me now, dammit! Dx _

_Thank you for all the reviews though! They really do mean a lot to me. They all inspire me to write more. Please come back again!_

_Allen: *Smiles* So you can watch me rock your world *winks* _

_Ed: Hey, you can't flirt, that's Mustang's thing. _

_Allen: *looks away from watching FMA on a primitive T.V.* What was I doing again?_

_Ed: *sweatdrop* Okay.. Well then see you next time, and please review!_


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